Wednesday 20th September 2023 may well have been a mostly wet and overcast day in Biggleswade but nothing dampened the spirits of the OHs who gathered together at the Shuttleworth Collection for a private group guided tour.
Greeted by Visitor Attraction Supervisor Mark Cooper, we all enjoyed meeting up with old friends and getting to know new ones over a welcome cup of coffee before the day started.
We were then introduced to Ernest, our special tour guide for day as this group of OHs explored the six undercover hangars that make up the working collection of vintage aeroplanes, cars, buses and related memorabilia.
Ernest, a retired glider pilot and engineer who is a volunteer guide, took us on a fascinating and informative voyage through the Collection’s many varied exhibits. These included a number of wonderfully-preserved original aircraft such as stunning examples of a Spitfire, a Tiger Moth and a De Havilland DH 89 from the 1940s back to the only surviving working and air-worthy example of a 1909 Bleriot.
Above: William Miller H 65), Anthony Lee (E 71), tour guide Ernest, Edward Nicholson (E 71), Nick Down (A 74), Michael Green (L 59) getting up close to the Spitfire
More than a museum
It is important to appreciate that this is a working collection, not a museum, and that all the aircraft and vehicles are used on a regular basis at the site’s air shows and open days.
Following our two-hour tour our group adjourned to the café to enjoy a hot lunch together where many Haileybury stories and memories were shared. We then had free time to continue to peruse the extensive exhibits and the gift shop and, for those of us brave enough to venture out in the rain, the beautiful Swiss Garden, the oldest part of the site which has been lovingly restored.
Ideas for a similar tour?
This tour is an excellent example of how the Society engages with its members regionally in small groups which allows time for people to meet informally and enjoy the company of others in the OH community whilst visiting places run by other charities and trusts.
If you are a Society member and would like to suggest a place of interest for such a tour we would love to hear from you. Do please get in touch with Jane Everard, Society Secretary, here.
More photos from the tour
Above: Vicki Watson (L 73), Peter Watson, Kate Hearle (H 74), William Miller (H 65) Tour guide Ernest, Nick Down (A 74), Anthony Lee (E66 ), Richard Drean ( B 70)
Above: British European Airways DH89 Dragon Rapide built by De Havilland in 1945, seats 9, originally owned by Aer Lingus
Above: Vicki Watson inspects some of the Collection’s glorious vintage cars
Kate Hearle, Adrian Hearle, Edward Nicholson, Nick Down, Vicki Watson, Anthony Lee, Richard Drean listening to the WW1 fighter pilot stories
Kate Hearle and the Grosvenor House DH88 Comet, one of three developed by De Havilland to participate in the 1934 England-Australia air race, made of wood at a cost of £5000 each
Above: Tiger Moth DH82 used by the RAF 1944-53
Above: Early flight – the end of our tour – Ernest describes the 1909 Bleriot Type XI, the world’s oldest air-worthy aircraft in flying condition
Above: Two of the collection’s vintage buses – the one on the right is 100 years old, a 1923 Leyland SG7 (the white rose) is the only surviving example of a maximum capacity single decker bus used in the mill towns of Lancashire and North Wales; restored in 2002 and used regularly at the Collection’s Open Flying Days to ferry visitors around the site.
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